Maine AFL-CIO Statement on Escalating ICE Operations in Maine

Below is a statement from Maine AFL-CIO President Cynthia Phinney on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agents escalating raids in Maine this week.

“Both national news sources and the growing body of first-hand experience on the ground here in Maine indicate that ICE is not limiting their targets to violent criminals - nor even to people who have broken the law. These agents have not been deployed to keep anyone safe. The attack is so broad and so harsh that workers of color are understandably afraid to go to work, take their children to school, or go to the store. Everyone in this country should have the right to go to work and return safely to their loved ones at the end of the day without fear of violence, especially not violence perpetrated by their own government.

"Even the name they have chosen for this operation, 'Catch of the Day,' indicates a complete lack of regard for the humanity of the many people who have come to Maine seeking safe harbor for themselves and their families. The people they are targeting are our neighbors, our co-workers, our fellow union members, our friends, and we betray everything our flag should stand for when we subject them to the same kind of terror and violence that many of them fled in their native countries.

"Far from safety or security, this operation is being used as a political tool to create chaos and put working class people in danger. One in five workers in America are foreign born and one in four children have an immigrant parent. Immigrants perform some of the most valuable work in our state, from taking care of our elderly and infirm and growing our food to building and fixing our homes and businesses. Immigrants are also our union brothers and sisters. They are vital to the fabric of our communities, our economy and the labor movement. We stand strongly opposed to the Trump administration’s deportation of workers to dangerous prisons, stripping workers of their citizenship and other permits, and shooting innocent people for exercising their constitutionally protected right to protest. These ICE raids are an attack on all workers. An injury to one of us is an injury to us all.”